CUTTING the number of councillors and holding elections every four years could save Southend Council mmore than £205,000 a year.

Leader Ron Woodley wants to see the council reduce from 51 members to just 34 councillors.

Every one of the 34 remaining councillors would then be up for relection every four years - rather than the current system which sees a third of councillors elected or re-elected every year.

The report due to be discussed by councillors this Thursday , reveals that losing 17 councillors would save the authority £155,000 a year and holding fewer elections would save £50,000.

Mr Woodley, an independent, said: “We have reduced staffing levels by well over 20 per cent so why should we, as councillors, be protected?

“We want to protect democracy but reduce the cost of it.

“I think it will speed up democracy as well, you won’t have the situation where one councillor leaves it to another to respond to a resident.

“I think the saving could well be more than £205,000, but we will have to wait and see how people vote.”

The move comes as the council’s core funding from central Government will be cut by 28 per cent cut in the forthcoming financial year.

Should Mr Woodley’s motion be passed through on Thursday then a public consultation on full council elections would need to be held, with it then having to be passed by a two thirds majority of councillors.

In terms of a reduction in councillors then, should the motion be passed, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, would need to carry out a review but changes could be implemented in time for the 2018 elections.

Mr Woodley’s plans face a fight to be passed though, however, with leader of the Conservative opposition, John Lamb, against reducing the number of councillors.

He said: “It think it is wrong, it would be a reduction in the democratic process.

“If you only had two councillors per ward then what happens if you had someone out of action for a prolonged period of time, as we have had recently with Graham Longley’s accident.

“If the other councillor is then away on holiday, or is ill themselves, then the residents have no-one to represent them.

“I think three councillors per ward should be a minimum.

“Regarding full council elections then I would agree with that, but I say hold them on a year when there’s a General Election so you get a higher turnout.”

The motion will be heard at a meeting of Southend Council’s full council on Thursday (Feb 25), at the Civic Centre, in Victoria Avenue, at 6.30pm.